Trump's Flip-Flops, Hawks' Sway Rule Out Dialogue

EghtesadOnline: Those who advocate talks with Washington are ignoring the fact that hardliners are currently pulling the strings at the White House and that a vacillating and contradictory government cannot be trusted, a political observer says.

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27 July 2019

In a recent article, Ali Mousavi Khalkhali, the editor-in-chief of the Iranian Diplomacy website, says there are people who assume that the only way out of the challenges facing the country is to engage in talks with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

"However, those who moot this idea leave a simple question unanswered. Is there any guarantee that the US government would remain committed to the outcome of any negotiations after six months or after the [2020] US presidential election, or any other time?"

Khalkhali maintains that the Trump administration is clearly in a "state of confusion" with regard to Iran, according to Financial Tribune.

"It talks about war one day and offers to hold talks without preconditions the next day," he said.

The editor noted that those who are against Iran-US dialogue are exerting a strong influence in the White House.

Shadow of Extremists

Key members of the Trump Cabinet not only do not favor talks with Iran, but also have made it no secret that they seek the collapse of the establishment [in Tehran], the political analyst added.

“They have exerted great pressure on Trump to achieve this objective and even brazenly talked about the military option. Under these circumstances, is there any guarantee that they would not impede the continuation of talks and prevent them from yielding results even if Trump enters into talks with Iran?" he said.

Khalkhali believes that Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which was a "comprehensive and internationally recognized" agreement is a clear example of how things work at the White House.

Trump unilaterally abandoned the 2015 pact negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, arguing that it does not go far enough to curb Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

"Many people at the Trump administration, including former US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, and former defense secretary, James Mattis opposed the US president’s decision to leave the accord. However, a more influential group managed to advance their agenda and persuade Trump to pull out of the agreement," he said.

"How can we hold talks with the US administration while this influential group not only does not believe in dialogue with Iran but also have explicitly said there is a need for regime change [in Tehran] even through the dangerous tool of war?"

Khalkhali says another characteristic of Trump is that he is not willing to give any concessions to the other side, as he probably assumes that such an attitude demonstrates US power.

He added that America's negotiations with North Korea show that no tangible outcome can be expected from negotiations with the Trump administration.

"Have bilateral talks between Washington and Pyongyang produced any results so far?" he asks.